time to JUNK it. On Sunday, September 5, 2021 at 1:12:39 PM UTC-7 Mike PDX wrote:
> Hi, my Brewtus III-R has has been a workhorse for the last 12 > years. There have been a few failures during that time period (PID, > Pressure Stat, and Steam Pressure Gauge) but they really have been straight > forward for me to fix. However a new problem started a few days ago that > has me scratching my head since I’m not sure of the order of operations the > machine goes thorough when switching between Steam Boiler and Brew Boiler > heating. > > Here’s what’s happening… Machine turns on as normal each morning, tops off > water reservoir (it’s plumbed) and then commences the heating cycle - first > stem boiler to pressure at 1.3 bar, then brew boiler for a bit, then back > to steam boiler when pressure drops to .9 bar, then back to brew boiler, > etc… until the brew boiler reaches 204F and PID float commences. > > Everything seems normal right? But after 60 to 90 minutes of being at > temp, the steam boiler pressure falls and the heating element does not kick > in at .9 bar, but dropping below that threshold DOES lock out brew boiler > PID float, even though the steam boiler isn’t active. Consequently both > temps drop until there is no pressure in the steam boiler at all, and the > brew temp hits ~150F (this temp seems to vary a bit from 130F at the low > end to 165F on the high side) when the whole system comes back to life and > the boilers start activating in sequence as they should. Sometimes the > brew boiler will make it back to 204F and PID float, but sometimes it only > gets into the 190s before the temp death spiral starts again. The only way > to restore normal function is to shut down and allow the machine to cool > for 20 to 30 minutes. > > My initial thinking was that the “low” pressure side of the pressure stat > failed, hence blocking the call for heat to the steam boiler. But if > that’s the case why does the brew boiler stay locked out if it's not > sensing low pressure? Also, why does the system function for 60 to 90 > minutes before the temp death spiral? My guess is that there is a sensor > that fails when the internals of the machine hit a certain temp (e.g. why > it only happens when the machine has been on for a time) and I also > suspect that it IS the pressure stat BUT, would love to get the wisdom of > the crowd involved here before ordering parts, since the brew boiler lock > out is making me doubt that. > > Any ideas Brewtus people? > > Thanks! > > Mike > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Brewtus" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to brewtus+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/brewtus/884f4ea6-0a70-47d3-ad07-3628fb5abf7bn%40googlegroups.com.
